A Demigod Girl: Chapter 1
'PART I: The Decent' "Long is the way And hard, that out of hell leads up to light." -John Milton, Paradise Lost Chapter 1: Cecidit Genus (Bladewood) Lilith Adams wiped the sweat off her brow, wrinkling her nose. The stench of the black mist protruding from Mount Othrys was so strong, she was surprised she hadn't shrivled up and died. Wiping her long blonde bangs out of her eyes, she turned to her right. Xander was poised up straight on a boulder, bow in hand. He was scouting the area, seeing if any monsters had escaped Mount Othrys. Lilith looked back down, straightening her golden Trecedim Breastplate. Yes, she was part of the Trecedim- an elite fighting team made up of 13 powerful demibeings. She'd been as surprised as anyone when they had contacted her two years ago on her thirteenth birthday. They had explained that she was a demigod, the child of a god and a mortal. She was Homo Apollian-'' a demigod daughter of the Greek sun god Apollo. And now she was here, on Mount Othrys, waiting for Leila to give the order to raid. As Lilith gripped her golden bow tight, sweat rolling down her palms, their was a small pat on her shoulder. She turned to find Leila Nacht towering over her. Leila was pretty; much more pretty than she, anyway. Her hair was a dark, dark black, as if the night sky had rained down upon her and stained her hair the color of shadow. Her eyes were a lifeless black, glowing like a lit shadow in the cold mountain air. "Feeling pumped?" Leila asked, her foot tapping on the ground nearvously. Lilith laughed, beads of sweat dripping off her chin. "If by 'pumped' you mean that my heart is practically ripping itself out of my chest in fear, then yes. I'm extremley pumped." Leila giggled, but her voice quievered, revealing a slight drip of fear. "Look," she began. "I know it's your first time on a Raid Mission, but I'm sure you'll be fine. The worst you'll get is a few scratches...maybe a broken leg or rib." "Well that's reassuring," Lilith groaned. Leila giggled once again, this time her voice more confident. Looking up to the sky, she sighed. The reflection of the clouds swam around in her eyes, like fluffy white fish in a shadowy black pond. "If only the night sky hung high," she said. "Then I could pray to my mother..." Lilith rubbed her temples at this. She'd forgotton that Leila was a demiprotogenoi, the offspring of a mortal and protogenoi. She was a daughter of Nyx, the protogenoi of the night. She'd seen Leila summon the power of the night, seen her use the shadows and darkness to her advantage. But now the sun was out, barely visible through the thick Titan Mist that swirled in circles around Mount Othrys. Then suddenly it was gone- all of it. The Titan Mist no longer veiled the mountain, and Lilith's vision was as clear as the morning rain that now beat down on the Trecedim's heads. A temple lay infront of them, some of its pillars scattered across the ground in ruins. The roof was black granite, and was shaped like a lengthy rectangular prism. Thick, granite pillars supported the roof, connecting to a wide floor made of veined tile. Set into the front side of the roof was a large mosaic of a golden sun surrounded by a blue sky. "Hyperion's Temple," Leila murmered under her breath, a snake of mist slithering out of her mouth. "Hyperion?" Lilith said, the color flushing from her face. "Like...like the Titan Hyperion?" Leila nodded than narrowed her eyes. Then she groaned, "No one told you, did they? This isn't just any Raid Mission- we're here to kick Hyperion off Mount Othrys." Lilith's eyes widened, the feeling of near death setting in. She moved the hair out of her blue-green eyes and swallowed the bile and fear that had surfaced in her throat. "-to go?" Leila finished saying, and it was only after an awkward silence did Lilith realize that she had been speaking to her. Fear must have drowned out her senses, including her hearing. "What?" Leila sighed, placing a hand on her back. "Stay focused, Lilith. I said, are you ready to go?" Lilith, snapping out of her reverie, answered, "Yes." With that single word, Leila gave the command. As the leader of the Trecedim, she was required to give orders, and it seemed like on thing she was very fond of doing. She raised her hand in the air, giving the Trecedim signal: three fingers raised to the heavens, while the middle finger and thumb lay flat in the palm. Behind her, the eleven other members nodded in understanding- now was the time. She curled her fingers inward- making a fist- and turned to Xander and Lilith. "Let it begin," she said, the cold emotion in her voice resembling the dead set expression on her face. ~ The arrows wedged between the cracks of the granite roof, sending small chunks of roof to the ground. Their heads were made of Aprhoditan Glass, one of the strongest metals in the world. The shafts had been carved from the Great Lumen Tree- an elderly tree hidden deep within the tunnels below Trecedim headquarters. The fringe was ruffly, threaded from the soft, clear hair of a Pegasus. And at the very end of each arrow- eight in all- were thing, transparent zip-lines. Lilith finished tying on her Thread Gloves- gloves made from the burn-proof material that allowed for easy access across zip-lines. Her cheeks ignited with a furious, burning blush of embarrassment as she realized she was the last scout on the ground. The other five scounts were already up on the roof, including Xander and Leila. "Hurry up!" Xander hissed from the top, and Lilith held her hands up in embarrassment. Gripping the line tightly, she began to scale the building. She'd trained for two years, just so she could be ready for missions like this. Her whole life she had waited for this, this adventure. but now, she was regretting it. Standing a chance against a titan was not something that had been mention during the training process. As she pulled herself up onto the roof, she was gretted by the serious expressions of Leila's and Xander's faces. "Took you long enough," Xander mummbled. "Sorry," Lilith began, but Leila cut her off. "There's not time to talk. Come, we've got a job to do." The eight of them- two leaders and six scouts- raced across the top of Hyperion's Temple, their muffled Trecedim boots beating noiselessly on the granite rooftop. If Xander had not been there, and if he had not had the speed of his father Hermes, Lilith would have plummeted into the hole that had suddenly come into view before them. He swung his right arm around like a closeline, and let her go lightly as she regained balance. "Whoa there," he snickered, setting her up straight. Before she could reply with a thank you, however, Leila was shushing them and pointing down into the temple. From this height, the interior of Hyperion's Temple was more visible. The pillars were strung with flaming bronze braizers, each with golden flames licking at the cieling above. The hole was right above the throne room, and the golden, flame-soaked throne sat in the middle of the room. On the throne-no doubt about it- sat Hyperion. Lilith cocked her head to get a batter look and noticed how young Hyperion looked. He had a boyish face, with the cute feautres a girl might just fall in love with. His eyes glowed like miniature golden suns that probably made females melt everywhere- literally. His hair hung over his face in shaggy, golden, sun-colored bangs. Hyperion was dressed in a golden-bronze, half cut toga and fauld, revealing a bronze-skinned set of washboard abds. ''Is it just me, or is the Titan of light really, really hot? And not literally...''Lilith thought. Only when one of the girls agreed with her did she realize she'd spoken aloud. Her cheeks flushed red instantly, sweat slipping off her brow. "Yes," Leila said, and for a moment that expression of a craving for human affection and love flashed across her face. However, it was quickly gone in the blink of an eye. "He is quite handsom...but we have a problem." "Which is?" Xander asked, rolling his eyes at all the blushing, giggling girls. "That," Leila sighed, "is not Hyperion." "What?!" Lilith hissed. "You're kidding? Please tell me you're kidding, Leila-" Xander began, but his complaint was cut off by the quick raise of her hand. "Stop. Stay focused, people," she sighed, closing her eyes. When she opened them, they had the look of seriousness gleaming out of them. "Despite the fact that Hyperion isn't here, we must still clear out this temple. Maybe if we succeed, then he'll get the message and never come back to Mount Othrys." Xander and the others nodded in agreement. "So," Lilith began. "What's the plan?" "The plan," Leila said, "is to kick some butt." Then, as if reaching out into some alternate dimmension, Leila drew a sword. It was a shining silver metal- something that could be used to kill monsters, werewolves, ''and ''spread butter. It's hilt was a sort of circular shape, with a long black thorn, tipped with red, protruding from the bottom. She closed her eyes. "''I summon the power of the night, to break through the forces of the day. I pray to Nyx, the Night Mother. On this day, I shall spill the blood of my enemies, to strengthen the River of which She is Named. For I serve thy Night Mother, for blood and for purity." The sword began to glow black, a thick, shadowy aura forming around it. She swung it around, aiming it down into the hole. "Let's do this," Leila Nacht hissed. ~ The Trecedim entered from all directions. They came from the front, from the sides, and-the most surprsing to the Hyperion-imposter- the roof. Lilith hit the ground hard on her feet, the shock sending a wave of vibrations up through her legs. Her knees threatened to give way, as if like weak noodles, but she kept her ground. Her bow whipped out in a blur, and the arrow as knocked just as fast. It soared through the darkness of the temple, not having- or needing- a target. However, a screech and the sound of exploding demon from the darkness told her that she'd made contact. As the Trecedim entered the temple, all hell broke loose. Monsters and rogue demibeings flung themselves at the 13 fighters that crowded the hall. But the Trecedim was made up of the best. Demibeings and demons fell to the crowd in heaps of bleeding bodies and piles of golden dust. As for Lilith? She was too busy dealing with the Hyperion-imposter. He'd sprung up from his throne as soon as they'd entered from the roof. Unfortunatley for her, Hyperion had locked in combat with the closest person to him. That person just so happened to be Lilith. The worst part was that he fought like she had expected a titan would fight. He had the grace of a soft, harmless breeze and the fury of a deadly hurricane. His feet moved quickly under him as he shuffled back and forth in place, his sword twirling in and out of his fingers. The sword was gold, like the rest of him, and cast long, sharp shadows in the light of the flaming braziers. "Why hello there?" he said. His voice was sly and smooth- so smooth, Lilith couldn't decide if he was taunting or flirting. She didn't have time to find out, as he lunged. His movements were sharp and graceful, slicing through the air like a knife slicing through bread. Lilith- who was not a natural born swordswoman- tried to make some distance between them...but it didn't work. The Hyperion-imposter swung his sword, a golden blur in the air, and sliced through her leg and arm. Long, burning gashes began to blister up and bleed as she fell to the ground. The imposter flipped the sword around and slammed the butt of it into her forehead. With a cry of protest, she fell backwards on to her head. He arched down, and sniffed the air close to her hair. He smiled, sweat pounding off his rock hard abs. "A daughter of Apollo, are we? Well then. The son of the sun titan and the daughter of the sun god...I should enjoy this." He towered over her, his eyes like blazing balls of fire. He raised his sword over his head, and- "LILITH NO!" The Hyperion-imposter flew up and over into the pillar behind Lilith's head. To her left, Leila was running towards her, sword in hand. A ball of shadow energy was just fading from her palm as she knelt next to her comrade. "Are you okay Lilith?" she asked, caressing her forehead and checking for concussions. "I-I'm fine," Lilith said, rubbing her temples and sitting up. Suddenley, however, she felt light headed. She touched her head where a bruise was just beggining to form...and her hand passed straight through her face. She screamed, and for a split second the fighting stopped. It resumed, however, as she began to panick. "L-Leila?!? What's..what's happening!?" Seeing Leila's wide eyed and drastic face just made her freak out more. "Lilith...you...you're turning invis-" "INVISBLE?!" she said, hot tears streaming down her face. "What happen-GAH!" she hissed, biting her tounge. She could feel the salty blood run through her mouth as she fought back the pain in her leg. And then, without any warning, there was a flash of paniful, monochromatic light and they were gone. ~ Lilith peeled her eyes open. Cold, dirty water dripped down onto her face, mixing in with the dried tears of pain that stained her cheeks. Above her was endless darkness, stretching as far as the eyes could see, and for a moment she thought she was dead...until she felt the soft, prickly sensation of dry grass tickling her legs. Sitting up, Lilith gasped. She was in a vast field and was surrouned by tall,dry, brown stalks of grass in every direction. She stood and noticed that the pain in her leg was gone. She tore off the remaing, torn fabric on her leggins and passed her fingers gently over the white scars. She swiveled her head around on her neck, looking for any sign of the Trecedim, Xander, Leila...Then she realized she was no longer on Mount Othrys. "Lilith?" They desperate cry came from behind her. She pivoted on her foot, to find Leila Nacth running toward her. "Leila? W-where are we? What happened...I feel-" as her legs gave way and she fell to the ground, Leila caught her. "Stay with me, Lilith," she chuckeled, uprighting her. "W-where are we?" Lilith repeated. "I don't know," Leila said, wrinkling her nose. "We're not above ground though. I can tell by the sky...or whatever that darkness is. It's not night...there would be that smell of the night.....all I can smell is-" "Death?" the voice said. Leila and Lilith whipped around to find the Hyperion-imposter standing behind them. His face was rugged and their was a blistering, white scar on his shoulder where Leila had shadow blasted him. His golden armor was gone and, noticing this, Lilith realized their clothes were missing. They were all completley naked, standing in a field of dried grass, in the middle of no where. Reflexivley, Lilith crossed her legs and covered her chest. "Exscuse me? Death?" Leila said, casually strolling forward. "Are you implying-" The boy scoffed and turned around. "Yes. I am implying that we are in the Underworld. Judging by the tall, dried grass...I'm guessing we are in the Fields of Asphodel." Lilith sank chin deep in the grass. Her eyes began to tear again. So I am dead...? ''she told herself, crying out her anger and sadness. As if reading her mind the boy said, "Oh stop crying. You're not dead...we've been transported here." "Indeed you have," said the second voice. This time they all looked up. He was a tall man, his skin so pale it was almost transparent. He looked young- maybe twenty- and his hair was an abnormal storm gray, with eyes to match. He was 6'3" and towered tall over all of them. "Who are you?" the Hyperion-imposter growled under his breath. He took a step forward. "Yes," the gray-haired-man said," because you are so powerful while you're naked." "What the-?" the boy cursed, looked down, and dropped low into the ground. The man began to move forward towards the three teens. "Hiding wont help. I think these young women have seen everything you...offer. But really, ladies and sir...put on some clothes." With a snap of his fingers, Lilith was dressed. She had been fastened into a white, buttoned-up shirt. She was wearing a green and black checkered skirt with white fringe at the bottom. "Now that you have been properly clothed," the man said, "let me explain why you three are here..or more in particular, why she is here." His hand rose and he extended one long bony finger in Lilith's direction. "What? Me?" Lilith said, her cheeks on fire. "Yes," the man said. "Lilith Marie Adams is it?" Lilith felt her self go rigid. He knew her name? How...? "I am King Rhadamanthus of Crete," he said, straigthening his posture. "But you can call me Rad." "Rhadamanthus...?!" Leila said in awe. "Holy...the third Judge of the Dead just asked you to call him Rad," the boy said. His jaw hung open, but snapped shut suddenly. "Wait...why are you here...are we truly in the-" "In the Underworld? Yes. You are correct. You are in the Fields of Asphodel," Rad said, moving his gray bangs out of his eyes. "Then why are you here? In the Fields I mean...shouldn't you be at the Judging Pavillion..." "Hay," he said. "I should. But my brother, Minos...he has fooled me once again." Rhadamanthus hung his head in shame, gazing thoughtfully at the ground. "I'm sorry," Leila began, but the King held up a hand. "Do not apologize demiprotogenoi. A daughter of Nyx are you? I think....Leila Nacht? I have met your mother during my time in death. She is....different." Leila rubbed the back of her head, ruffling her long hair. "Yeah," she said. "So I've been told." Rhadamanthus looked towards the boy. "And you...a demititan. The son of Hyperion, I asume?" "Yes-" began the boy, when Rad said, "Your name is Josh McLean, isn't it." "Yes, how did you-" "I am a Judge of the Dead, boy. I hear many, many things...and I've heard many, many things about ''you." Rad turned to the three of them and snickered. "What?" Lilith said. "What's so funny?" "Nothing is of the ordinary here," Rad laughed. "What are a demigod, a demititan, and a demiprotogenoi doing in the Underworld together? Do you know-" "They raided my father's temple," Josh interrupted. "The chick, Leila...she knocked me down and then there was a black and white light and...we woke up here." Josh turned to the others. "Right?" "Yeah," Leila answered. Lilith nodded in agreement and turned to Rad. There was a sly grin on his face, mixed with a serious/sad expression. "What?" she said. "Nothing," Rad replied, turning away. "King Rhadamanthus if you know something-" Leila began. "Yeah like he'll tell us anything," Josh muttered. "-shut up, Josh!" Leila hissed. She looked back at Rhadamanthus and smiled, a smile that read ''Please tell me all your secrets! ''"Please, can you tell us what you know? Why are we here?" "You are here," Rad sighed, "as I have implied already-" he pointed again towards Lilith "-because of her." "And once again," Lilith groaned, "I ask you, why me?" "It's not you- or not mostly you." Then suddenley he was upon them, standing close enough to where Lilith could feel his hot, ghostly breath on her neck. "Lilith Marie Adams is here because her family is being hunted down." "What?" Lilith said. She buried her head in her hands, thoughts of her mother's body being burnt to ash flashing through her mind. "You have undergone the Fading Process," Rad said, interlacing his hands together. "The Fading Process- or what we ancients called ''zoun to thánato, ''Living Death. Someone, an unknown threat, has gone back into the past and has begun to attack your ancestors." "My ancestors-?" Lilith said, removing her tear stained face from her callused palms. "Yes. This Unknown Threat must have a grudge against your lineage, because they have murdered three of your ancestors-" "But how-?" Lilith interrupted. Groaning, Rad replied. "The Unknown Threat is either a son of Chronos or is using a chronokinesian..." "Chronokinesian?" "Someone who can control time," Josh added. "Yes," Rad said. "The Unkown Threat is killing off your ancestors, and that's why you have 'Faded' from existence. The only way to save your family, and assure that time and space are not permanantley disrupted, is to go back in time and stop the Uknown Threat." "So this Unknown Threat," Leila asked, "is taking out her family? Why?" "Like I stated," Rad said. "Probably a long lasting grudge of sorts..." "But how am I going back in time. None of us are chrono-whats-it-called." Lilith said, her face steaming and a few tears falling from her blue eyes. "Preciscley the problem," Rhadamanthus said, beggining to pace back and forth in the grass. "I know of a young son of Chronos who makes is residence in Elysium." Rad pointed out across the Fields to a gleaming, sunset-colored light on the horizon. "He lives on one of the Isles of the Blest, and it is your job to find him-" "Why are you helping us?" Josh suddenly hissed. "JOSH!" Lilith and Leila yelled at him. He retaliated with, "Sorry?! But isn't it weird that a long-since-dead king just happens to stroll on by and help us? I want to know what's in it for him." Rhadamanthus sighed. "He is right." Seeing the girls' shocked faces he said, "But not like that! No, no, no! The Unknown Threat is the one who helped my brother Minos trick me into losing my position as a Judge of the Dead...and I want revenge." "Ah," Josh said, crossing his arms over his leather jacket. "Revenge." Rhadamanthus glowered at him, but remained calm in tone. "I want revenge greatly, but Lilith is more important. Now if you don't mind, you pompous son of Hyperion, would you not mind escorting her like a gentlemen to Elysium. Josh was appalled, but Leila gave him a stern look. "Fine," he hissed. "Fine. Come on, ladies. I'll be a 'gentlemen'...but you better keep up." ~ The Gates of Elysium loomed high above them, glimmering gold in the light that escaped from the Isles behind them. A row of six guards stood firm infront of the guards, as still and emotionless as the Buckingham Palace guards in Britain. Each was clad in gold and white armor, rimmed with blue on the edges. All six of them held a large, bronze spear in their hands that crackeled and popped with blue electricity at the top. The journey across the Fields hadn't been as dangerous as Lilith had expected, but it had been strange. Souless fades were all that wandered the Fields of Asphodel. As they had walked across the large expansions of grass towards the Isles, tens and thousands of fades had tried to fling themselves on her. Luckily, Josh had the power of the sun- something she had still never learned to control. Seeing the light of the burning flame, the fades had retreated. "Lilith look," Josh whispered, snapping her out of her reverie. "What?" "Her. The girl talking to the guards," Leila said next. Lilith looked up to see a teen girl- possibly 18 or 19- yelling at the guards. Unfazed, the guards stared ahead. "Where is my brother?!" she shouted. "WHERE IS RICKY?!" The guards said nothing. The girl threw her hands up in protest, cursed aloud, and stormed off in their direction. She was a pretty girl, with flowing blonde hair and electric blue eyes that read, I'm a lady- beautiful and girly- but I will ''rip your head off. ''Her face was unblemished, perfectly shaped, and coming to a point at the end. She wasn't just pretty, she was a fierce pretty. "What're you looking at, kid?" she yelled at Josh. Josh, picking his head up, looked ahead. "Uh..." "Uh is right," she said. Her attention whipped around towards Lilith who, unbeknownst to her, was still staring. "And you? You got a problem?" "No I-" Lilith began, but Leila stepped in. "Listen, we don't want any problems," she said. "We just need to get into Elysium and find someone." "No luck there," the girl said, gesturing back towards the unmoving guards. "What exactly where you attempting to do over there," Josh snickered. "Yell them to death?" "Oh I see," the girl sneered. "You've got jokes. Well I don't have time jokes. I was just making sure the guards were as still as they seem to be, if you must know." "Why?" Lilith asked. "I'm looking for my brother, Ricky. He's been...missing." she said, crossing her arms. "I tracked him to Elysium the other day, so I found an Orpheus Door and made my way here. However, upon arrival, I realized these guards were total a-holes. So I scouted for a different root." Suddenly her voice dropped to a whisper. "And I found a secret entrance in the back of the gated Isles..." Josh's eyes widened and Lilith breathed a sigh of relief. So they would be able to get in! "We're looking for someone as well. Do you think you could help us get in-?" Leila began, but the girl was already ahead of her. "If I help you, you help me. I want you to help me find my brother?" the blonde-haired girl extended her hand. "Deal?" Leila hesitated and looked back at Lilith. Josh shrugged, signaling that it was her call...and Lilith nodded. Leila extended her hand, gripping the girl's in hers, and shook. "Well then," the blond haired girl said. "Laika Stefa, daughter of Ares, at your service." Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Having Faith (Animalandia) Category:A Demigod Girl